Pet Helpers Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
570802283
IRS 990 coverage
2011–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025
Location
Charleston, SC, USA
Phone
8435316164
Rating
83
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Animal Protection and Welfare

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$3,411,857
Expenses
$2,546,836
Assets
$9,101,247
Liabilities
$907,738

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

12 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • AMY NOVEK (VICE PRESIDENT)
  • CAROL LINVILLE (FOUNDER & PRESIDENT)
  • MELISSA SUSKO (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

Highest reported compensation

  • DR RACHEL JONES (EMPLOYEE): $103,367 total reported compensation
  • MELISSA SUSKO (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $95,146 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

To end euthanasia for all adoptable cats and dogs; providing low cost spay/neuter surgeries, offering humane education programs, pursuing animal cruelty prosecution and initiating animal welfare legislation.

What it reported doing in 2025

Community outreach: levi's legacy: provides small grants to pet owners who have pets facing sudden illness or injury and would not be able to seek veterinary care without financial support. Food bank: pet helpers' food bank provides food to low and fixed-income pet owners and those facing temporary financial hardship, to help keep pets in their homes. Tnr: pet helpers' trap-neuter-release (tnr) program provides trap rentals, spay/neuter surgeries, microchipping and vaccinations to help control the overpopulation of community (feral) cats. Levi's legacy: provides small grants to pet owners who have pets facing sudden illness or injury and would not be able to seek veterinary care without financial support.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 62% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 100% of reported program-service expenses outside its grant, affiliate-payment, and member-benefit lines. This expense classification does not rule out separately announced grant awards.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

The verdict

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and some filed totals do not add up.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 71
  • Transparency & Controls: 87
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 69
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 67.4%; rating input score 67
  • Program expense ratio: 88.3%; rating input score 88
  • Fundraising efficiency: $12.52 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 44; 44th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 93.8%; rating input score 94; 21st percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 8 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 100
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 25.4%; rating input score 78; 78th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 3.57; rating input score 74; 74th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.1; rating input score 48; 48th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 7.8%; rating input score 41; 41st percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 3% per year; rating input score 100; 24th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 3.9% per year; rating input score 100; 29th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 2.5% per year; rating input score 100; 20th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 67.4% of revenue deployed · 88.3% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 10 of 10 board members independent · 8 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $2.3M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $103K · 12 people listed
  • Consistency: 30 of 31 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 14 filing years from 2011 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 2 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 1 filed related-organization link
  • Grant readiness: Federal tax and exclusion status, award history, and grant-maker relationships.
  • People: Everyone the filings name, and which of them the filings identify by more than a name.

Key Signals

Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.

  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 44/100.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 41/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 48/100.